A new report has surfaced that Nike has an opportunity to match the lucrative deal adidas threw at young Kristaps Porzingis.
Not only is Kristaps Porzingis dripping from head-to-toe in basketball IQ and talent, he’s a bonafide coach’s dream. The young 21-year-old — who’s now legally able to drink an alcoholic beverage — is viewed in this very same dream-like fashion by shoe companies.The only question at this stage of his young career revolved around which shoe company he’d sign on with. Last week, we received our answer in the form of adidas who jumped all over KP with a lucrative seven-year deal worth anywhere between $3-$6 million annually depending on incentives.
Not so fast, adidas.
Nick DePaula of Yahoo Sports’ The Vertical is reporting that Nike has a window of a week to match the adidas deal.
In restricted footwear deals, brands have contract language allowing them a similar “match window” – anywhere from one to three weeks. For Porzingis’ deal, Nike has 20 days to match, making the deadline Oct. 20, sources told The Vertical. Multiple sources throughout the industry said Nike is not expected to match adidas’ offer.
While many Nike enthusiasts will love the headline of Nike having that window of opportunity to fly in and snatch young Porzingis away from their fiercest competitor, it looks like adidas will snag its man.
The New York Knicks open up the regular season in Cleveland against LeBron James and the defending champion Cavaliers on Oct. 25.